Eli Jinn's 3D Printed & Spray Painted ESB Helmet
- Thread starter Eli Jinn
- Start date
Eli Jinn
Hunter
Progress on the ears!
I also sanded that lower ear and painted it gray. No pictures of that since it's just gray.
Now I would like to introduce a segment called...
Accuracy Tips!
(We're trying to figure out a better name)
Ok, so for today's Accuracy Tip... Missed Paint
If you were ever in doubt that this costume was made on short notice, I present you this...
Here's a better photo from the Art of Star Wars in 2002
This is a spot of missed paint at the back of the ear. The funny thing is that the gray is actually primer, which means they primed the ear pieces, painted them tan, then realized they missed a spot and proceeded to do nothing about it at all.
This one is really simple to replicate, I just shot the back with gray primer before painting the rest tan, making sure not to touch that part.
And thus concludes today's Accuracy Tip.
I also sanded that lower ear and painted it gray. No pictures of that since it's just gray.
Now I would like to introduce a segment called...
Accuracy Tips!
(We're trying to figure out a better name)
What is Accuracy Tips?
Accuracy Tips is the place where I discuss mildly interesting at best, completely worthless at worst details about Boba Fett that I feel a lot of people often overlook.When will you be doing Accuracy Tips?
Whenever the tip is relevant to my build and what I'm working on at the moment.Why should I care?
This is an opportunity to discuss ways we can all develop our skills and knowledge about Boba Fett, which is like the entire point of these forums...?Ok, so for today's Accuracy Tip... Missed Paint
If you were ever in doubt that this costume was made on short notice, I present you this...
Here's a better photo from the Art of Star Wars in 2002
This is a spot of missed paint at the back of the ear. The funny thing is that the gray is actually primer, which means they primed the ear pieces, painted them tan, then realized they missed a spot and proceeded to do nothing about it at all.
This one is really simple to replicate, I just shot the back with gray primer before painting the rest tan, making sure not to touch that part.
And thus concludes today's Accuracy Tip.
Eli Jinn
Hunter
Thank you! I was looking for something I could do to keep from restarting. I was even considering leaving it and hoping nobody would notice.
Short4ATrooper
Hunter
How far away would you say you hold the can while spraying?
Eli Jinn
Hunter
Sorry for the radio silence y'all. I've been under the new image curse and I didn’t want to put out an update without pictures. If you’re lucky enough to not know what I'm talking about, basically a lot of users recently have been unable to enlarge or open any images on the site, aren't able to see thumbnails of most images, and get error messages when trying to upload a photo to a thread. Trust me, I've been hard at work, but I can't show you any of it. I'll be sure to load y'all with pics once this bug is fixed.
Anyway, here's what I've been up to...
First, I took some steel wool to the helmet, but the lint was so cemented into the surface that by the time I had buffed it out, there was damage to the paint. No big deal. I just gave it a quick sand and repainted it gray.
Then, I took the lower part of the ear and masked the gray off before painting it Khaki like the upper ear. Super simple stuff.
I also got some machined aluminum in a can, otherwise known as Rustoleum Mettalic (there's like 20 different "mettalic" paints from Rustoleum so I got the one in the plain white can with the chrome lid). Seriously, this stuff was a game changer! I wish I could show you guys so bad. I sprayed that on the exposed metal parts and the inside of the earcap before lightly scratching it one way to emulate not only wear but the directional patterns you see on machined aluminum parts. I think I could have done a bit better job on that, but it's okay.
I also forgot to clear coat the earcap before painting the silver onto it, but I was surprised to see that the satin clear coat had no affect on the shine of the silver paint. Even after buffing it matte, the silver was just as shiny. I think I might try the clear coat on the mettalic paint as well since that stuff definitely needs sealing.
Then, I painted on the Letraset Decals by hand, and since I was painting with matte black on the slick, shiny surface of the mettalic paint, I was actually able to scratch off bits of the "decals" with my fingernail. I probably should have used a toothpick or something but it certainly was easier than trying to paint already scratched up symbols.
Finally, I gave the ears some weathering, following the Celebration VI photos as reference. I believe the weathering on the ears (reddish-brown splatter included) that we see at Celebration VI is also present in ESB. There's no really good photos where you can clearly make it out, but the shifts in color point in the direction that it was present from the beginning. Plus they just looked weird without weathering.
Next thing up for painting is the dome. I'm still extremely scared to go about painting the dome, but it's not like I can back out now.
Anyway, here's what I've been up to...
First, I took some steel wool to the helmet, but the lint was so cemented into the surface that by the time I had buffed it out, there was damage to the paint. No big deal. I just gave it a quick sand and repainted it gray.
Then, I took the lower part of the ear and masked the gray off before painting it Khaki like the upper ear. Super simple stuff.
I also got some machined aluminum in a can, otherwise known as Rustoleum Mettalic (there's like 20 different "mettalic" paints from Rustoleum so I got the one in the plain white can with the chrome lid). Seriously, this stuff was a game changer! I wish I could show you guys so bad. I sprayed that on the exposed metal parts and the inside of the earcap before lightly scratching it one way to emulate not only wear but the directional patterns you see on machined aluminum parts. I think I could have done a bit better job on that, but it's okay.
I also forgot to clear coat the earcap before painting the silver onto it, but I was surprised to see that the satin clear coat had no affect on the shine of the silver paint. Even after buffing it matte, the silver was just as shiny. I think I might try the clear coat on the mettalic paint as well since that stuff definitely needs sealing.
Then, I painted on the Letraset Decals by hand, and since I was painting with matte black on the slick, shiny surface of the mettalic paint, I was actually able to scratch off bits of the "decals" with my fingernail. I probably should have used a toothpick or something but it certainly was easier than trying to paint already scratched up symbols.
Finally, I gave the ears some weathering, following the Celebration VI photos as reference. I believe the weathering on the ears (reddish-brown splatter included) that we see at Celebration VI is also present in ESB. There's no really good photos where you can clearly make it out, but the shifts in color point in the direction that it was present from the beginning. Plus they just looked weird without weathering.
Next thing up for painting is the dome. I'm still extremely scared to go about painting the dome, but it's not like I can back out now.
Eli Jinn
Hunter
The curse is lifted.
Here's the comparison before and after repainting the helmet. Before on the left, after on the right:
Still not perfect but I doubt anyone will notice.
Here's the mettalic paint on the ears:
And after decals + weathering:
There is silver on the very bottom, it just fades into the gray under this lighting.
Here's how the final ears look on the helmet
Do you think I should add more weathering to the bottom here?
I'll be adding the reddish-brown splatters on at the very end because they appear to go over the top of the dome and the cheek and the mandible.
Here's the comparison before and after repainting the helmet. Before on the left, after on the right:
Still not perfect but I doubt anyone will notice.
Here's the mettalic paint on the ears:
And after decals + weathering:
There is silver on the very bottom, it just fades into the gray under this lighting.
Here's how the final ears look on the helmet
Do you think I should add more weathering to the bottom here?
I'll be adding the reddish-brown splatters on at the very end because they appear to go over the top of the dome and the cheek and the mandible.
Eli Jinn
Hunter
You remember when Short4ATrooper said this?
Actually, I don't think it was that I used the wrong stencil method. I think I just got the scaling wrong yet again.
If you don't see it, here's a pic of the actual helmet.
In my defense, Mr. Rafal's stencils for this area only have one sub-par reference point.
I think the cat scratch looks good, it's just the patch above it and the giant scrape across the top that needs work. So I'll erase that and scale it down and maybe skew it a bit. Man, working on a curved surface is scary!
Well I sure didn't.
Actually, I don't think it was that I used the wrong stencil method. I think I just got the scaling wrong yet again.
If you don't see it, here's a pic of the actual helmet.
In my defense, Mr. Rafal's stencils for this area only have one sub-par reference point.
I think the cat scratch looks good, it's just the patch above it and the giant scrape across the top that needs work. So I'll erase that and scale it down and maybe skew it a bit. Man, working on a curved surface is scary!
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Short4ATrooper
Hunter
Are you drawing these on freehand or transferring from tracing the stencils?
Eli Jinn
Hunter
Stencils as usual.
Eli Jinn
Hunter
AARGH!!!
I'm not exclaiming because I'm angry, the exact opposite actually. This frickin dome was the bane of my existence, and it’s done(for now)!
I used Rustoleum Moss Green for the dome, then washed it first with a very light blue and then teal. I also added the little black smudge near the rangefinder, which is on the ESB helmet. Wait, should that be an Accuracy Tip? I dunno, I think most people already knew that...
You can probably make out the outline of the area around that smudge because I re-did it so many times. Also the green on the dome is much less of that bright almost baby blue color irl compared to what the camera picks up.
Anyways, the next thing to do is steel wool the dome because it is way too shiny at the moment, then either finish the left ear or start the mandibles!
Also I should mention I'll be going on vacation for spring break so no updates for a bit. Sorry lol.
I'm not exclaiming because I'm angry, the exact opposite actually. This frickin dome was the bane of my existence, and it’s done(for now)!
I used Rustoleum Moss Green for the dome, then washed it first with a very light blue and then teal. I also added the little black smudge near the rangefinder, which is on the ESB helmet. Wait, should that be an Accuracy Tip? I dunno, I think most people already knew that...
You can probably make out the outline of the area around that smudge because I re-did it so many times. Also the green on the dome is much less of that bright almost baby blue color irl compared to what the camera picks up.
Anyways, the next thing to do is steel wool the dome because it is way too shiny at the moment, then either finish the left ear or start the mandibles!
Also I should mention I'll be going on vacation for spring break so no updates for a bit. Sorry lol.
Eli Jinn
Hunter
After I returned from my spring break vacation, I decided to add another dark green/teal wash to the dome, since I was dissatisfied from the green I had used. I don't have pictures of it, and you wouldn't be able to see the difference anyways, so...
It's subtle, but I think it's much better now.
It's subtle, but I think it's much better now.
Eli Jinn
Hunter
Gray is masked and maroon sprayed.
Don't mind the hack-job tape lol.
I definitely like the idea of using purple for this layer instead of maroon. I think if I still don't have an airbrush by the time I paint my next bucket, I will certainly reevaluate my paint list. What to do with all those barely used cans though?
Don't mind the hack-job tape lol.
I definitely like the idea of using purple for this layer instead of maroon. I think if I still don't have an airbrush by the time I paint my next bucket, I will certainly reevaluate my paint list. What to do with all those barely used cans though?
spicy fett
Active Hunter
Who is the make of your helmet?? I only ask because that’s why you might have been having so many problems with scaling for the stencils. If you don’t have a lineage helmet for ESB than the stencils won’t work quite well and things will look off if you aren’t careful.
